NSSC Policy Director/Senior Policy Director

Americans for Responsible Innovation; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Americans for Responsible Innovation (ARI) in Washington, DC, seeks a Policy Director or Senior Policy Director to lead the NSSC portfolio and shape policy frameworks at the intersection of AI, security, and governance. In this senior role you will set portfolio direction, allocate attention, and ensure outputs meet ARI's standards.

You will mentor analysts, work cross‑functionally with Government Affairs and Communications, and represent ARI publicly through op-eds and speaking engagements.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in a field relevant to one or more of the portfolio’s focus areas.
• 7-10 years of academic training or professional experience in policy analysis.
• Subject matter expertise in national security & technology or related areas.
• Desire to be a public-facing thought leader, including speaking and writing.
• Ability to generate original policy ideas and translate into frameworks.
• Advocacy mindset with understanding of policy uptake by audiences.
• Strong written and analytical communication skills.
• Experience working cross-functionally with Government Affairs and Communications.
• Experience or interest in AI policy.
• Willingness to work in-person at least three days a week and relocate to the DMV area.

Responsibilities

• Set direction for the portfolio, allocate attention across it, and maintain accountability for outputs.
• Define and oversee workflows within the portfolio and provide regular, actionable feedback.
• Ensure quality and consistency of the portfolio’s output and own QA/QC.
• Translate strategic direction into a coherent portfolio work plan and provide vision.
• Engage external stakeholders and serve as a thought leader on the portfolio’s issues.
• Develop and mentor the analysts reporting to them in policy design and advocacy delivery.

Skills

Policy analysis

Public policy

Public speaking

Written communication

Advocacy

Strategic thinking

Cross-functional collaboration

AI policy

Relocation to DMV area

Education

Master’s degree in international relations / security studies / government or public policy

Job description

About ARI

ARI is a nonprofit organization advocating for artificial intelligence policy in the public interest. We believe in establishing a thoughtful governance framework for rapidly advancing AI technology that protects the public from harm while continuing to foster innovation. ARI takes a bipartisan approach, building coalitions across the political spectrum.

Department Description

The ARI Policy Department is the organization's product development engine, responsible for the ideation and design of the policy frameworks, concepts, and analytical tools that define ARI's advocacy agenda and advance responsible AI governance. The Department's core work is deliberately proactive: rather than reacting to a legislative calendar set by others, we identify consequential policy questions before they reach Congress and develop durable frameworks that outlast any single bill or news cycle. Our aspiration is not merely to participate in the AI policy debate, but to shape it, generating the ideas that others eventually have to respond to.

NSSC Portfolio Description

The National Security & Strategic Competition (NSSC) Portfolio sits at the intersection of artificial intelligence and American power, focusing on how AI is shaping warfighting, intelligence, and diplomacy, and the international arrangements that keep global competition from becoming global conflict. The work of this portfolio is to develop ARI’s positions and help advance advocacy efforts on the operational integration of AI into military and intelligence operations, including lethal autonomous weapons; allied interoperability; escalation dynamics and crisis management resulting from AI diffusion; arms control and disarmament for AI; institutional readiness and talent management across the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community; and export controls and the international governance of model outputs. The portfolio’s organizing question is whether the United States can expand its options for employing hard and soft power without raising either the likelihood of unintended escalation or the incentive to resolve disputes by force. That framing reflects ARI’s conviction that AI’s arrival should make the world more stable rather than less, that democratic societies rather than merely democratic technologies should lead AI progress and diffusion, and that the use of AI to take human life demands human moral responsibility. Leading this portfolio requires comfort operating across the military, intelligence, and diplomatic dimensions of AI policy, and an ability to engage both near-term questions of adoption and acquisition and over-the-horizon questions of international governance and strategic stability.

Role Description

At ARI, Policy Directors are both leaders and managers. Policy Directors are the department's portfolio leads and its primary management layer, and their first responsibility is managerial. That means setting direction for the portfolio, allocating attention across it, and maintaining accountability for everything the portfolio produces, and for everything it fails to produce. They set clear expectations for both products and performance, manage and oversee the workflows within their teams, and provide regular, actionable feedback. They are responsible for maintaining the quality and consistency of the portfolio's output over time, and each Policy Director owns the QA/QC function for their portfolio, ensuring that work leaving the team meets the department's standards for rigor, relevance, and advocacy orientation before it reaches internal or external audiences. They also help ensure their team stays aligned to policy department and ARI priorities.

Policy Directors are also leaders, and this, not individual contribution, is where their principal value to the department lies. While they bring subject matter expertise relevant to their assigned issue areas, their contribution is not as individual contributors but as leaders who translate strategic direction into a coherent portfolio work plan and provide vision and direction to their portfolio team. They engage with relevant external stakeholders and serve as thought leaders on the issues within their assigned portfolio. And they develop the analysts who report to them, coaching and mentoring their assigned policy analysts in ARI's two core functions: the design of new policy frameworks and the delivery of approved policy objectives as part of ARI’s advocacy agenda.

Depending on the depth of experience of the candidate of choice, this role may be titled Policy Director or Senior Policy Director.

Qualifications

Required

• A Master’s degree in a field relevant to one or more of the portfolio’s focus areas, such as international relations, security studies, government or political science, public administration, or public policy.
• 7-10 years of academic training or professional experience in policy analysis, with a demonstrated ability to move from problem definition to policy design.
• Demonstrated subject matter expertise in one or more of the portfolio’s focus areas, such as national security & technology, international relations or affairs, arms control, deterrence, export controls, adoption and diffusion of new technologies in complicated bureaucracies, and the use and employment of lethal autonomous weapons systems.
• Desire to serve as a public-facing thought leader on issues related to the portfolio, including writing op-eds, attending conferences, and providing remarks at panels, keynotes, and other relevant public fora.
• A demonstrated ability to generate original policy ideas and translate them into coherent frameworks, not simply to analyze or comment on the ideas of others.
• An advocacy mindset, including a political instinct for how policy ideas are received and acted upon by legislative, executive, and public audiences.
• Strong written and analytical communication skills, including the ability to construct clear causal narratives that connect problems, solutions, and outcomes.
• Comfort and effectiveness working in cross-functional teams alongside Government Affairs and Communications colleagues.
• Demonstrated experience or interest in AI policy.
• Willingness to work in‑person at least three days each week and to physically relocate to the greater DC‑Maryland‑Virginia (DMV) area if not already living there.

Preferred

• At least 3-5 years of previous management experience wherein the candidate has been directly accountable for team performance, managed an assigned budget, and been directly responsible for the personal development of their assigned teammates.
• Prior experience in a legislative, executive branch, think tank, or advocacy setting where policy ideas were designed for real‑world uptake.
• Demonstrated ability to translate research or analysis into advocacy‑ready products, both for external audiences and ARI teammates assisting with advocacy efforts.
• Willingness to create and maintain relevant social media accounts (e.g., “X”) to help influence elite discourse on key AI policy issues related to the portfolio.

Compensation, Benefits, and Location

This is a full‑time position based in Washington, DC. Relocation assistance may be available. ARI maintains a flexible hybrid work schedule (working in‑person Tuesday‑Thursday and remote on Monday and Friday).

The salary range for the Policy Director role is $150,000 – $205,000, commensurate with experience. The salary range for the Senior Policy Director role is $205,000 – $240,000, commensurate with experience.

ARI offers a comprehensive benefits package, including:

• Healthcare insurance: 85% of healthcare, vision, and dental insurance premiums are covered for employees, partners, and dependents.
• Discretionary PTO and ~20 office holidays, including all Federal holidays and the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
• 401(k) Retirement Plan with 6% Employer Match.
• Wellness Benefit: $150/month taxable stipend to support physical and mental well‑being.
• Internet & Utilities Reimbursement: $150/month taxable stipend to cover internet and utilities expenses from remote work.
• Home Office Expenses for New Employees: up to $500 to all new full‑time employees for home office set‑up expenses.
• Professional Development Stipend: Up to $2,500 annually to be used towards building new knowledge and skills.
• Basic Life, Basic AD&D, Short‑Term Disability, and Long‑Term Disability: 100% employer‑paid with the option to elect for employee‑paid supplemental coverage.
• Flexible Spending Accounts: Dependent Care FSA, Medical FSA, Transit FSA, and Parking FSA.

Hiring Process

Application Materials

• Resume (not to exceed two pages)
• Relevant writing sample (e.g., policy brief or public policy product)
• Cover letter (not to exceed one page)

Application Process

At ARI, we intentionally design the application process to ensure mutual fit and success in the role by using the following recruitment process, where each stage is different and meant to help us understand something distinct about the candidate. Each of the stages is outlined below to help give you an idea of what lies ahead:

1. Resume Review & Initial Down Select: Submitted resumes, writing samples, and cover letters are evaluated against our nonnegotiable and preferred core competencies of the position to determine our initial candidate pool.
2. Initial Interview: Virtual 30‑minute video chat 1:1 with the Policy Department’s operational deputy and Chief of Staff.
3. Supervisor Interview: Virtual 30‑minute video chat 1:1 with the Vice President of Policy Design & Delivery to assess substantive qualifications.
4. Semi‑Finalist Panel Interview: In‑person 45‑minute chat with selected members of the Policy Department to assess cultural fit.
5. Finalist Interview: Virtual or in‑person 30‑minute interview with the President or Executive Director of ARI, to assess growth potential and alignment with leadership vision.

The hiring process concludes when a final candidate is approved by the VP for Policy Design & Delivery, and an offer has been made and accepted. Generally speaking, the whole process is meant to be conducted within 45 days from the time the position closes for applications.

Due to the anticipated volume of applications, we may not be able to respond to every applicant in a timely manner. We apologize in advance for any communication delays.

Americans for Responsible Innovation is an equal‑opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, national origin, marital status, religion, sex (including pregnancy), gender, age, genetic information, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, personal appearance, family responsibilities, political affiliation, or protected veteran status.

Referral Bonus

Know a great fit for any roles for which we’re hiring? We value your network and will reward you for successful referrals to help us attract and hire the very best talent to advance our mission.

If you refer a candidate who receives and accepts our offer, you’ll receive a referral bonus of $3,000 for this role.

To qualify:

• The candidate must list your name as the referral source in the application.
• The candidate must receive and accept the offer.
• The candidate must start and remain employed with us for at least 30 days.

To participate in this program, you must be a legal resident of the United States. If the referral is successfully hired by ARI, an ARI representative will contact you to obtain the required documents (e.g., W9) to receive the referral bonus. The bonus will be paid within 60 days after the candidate has completed the required 30‑day tenure period and the required documents have been submitted.